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Stalled EU progress looms large over Open Balkan meeting in Tirana
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- With regret over failure to open negotiations with Tirana and Skopje, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi says the initiative has to be understood through regional integration accelerating economic integration with the EU.
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TIRANA, Dec. 21 - The leaders of Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia have signed five agreements related to the free movement of workers and goods, food safety and agriculture at the latest Open Balkan initiative meeting held in Tirana.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said they were pressing forward with regional integration, which they added would benefit from the three other countries of the region joining the initiative.
Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina have refused to join the initiative so far, expressing concern over potential Serbian dominance of the initiative, preferring all-inclusive EU-backed processes instead.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi attended the meeting virtually, saying the initiative has to be understood through the importance of regional integration, which can then accelerate economic integration with the EU.
"This initiative shows that the region is ready for integration and is doing so. Any regional cooperation is welcome for the benefit of the Balkans and the EU,” Varhelyi said. “I invite the three other partners to join this initiative, which increases employment, the economy and well-being."
Stalled EU bids loom large
North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev expressed concern about the lack of EU progress for the region. He also added that his country would stick to the initiative, although Zaev admitted this was his last meeting. Zaev resigned his position earlier this year, partly in protest of EU’s failure to open membership negotiations with North Macedonia.
Varhelyi acknowledged the stalled EU integration process -- a result, he said, of some EU countries having national elections. But he added that initiatives like Open Balkans could make up for some of the work spelled out in EU's Berlin Process.
Albania and North Macedonia have fulfilled all conditions to start negotiations, but have been blocked endlessly over bilateral issues with EU member states.
Serbia, on the other hand, just opened a new chapter in its membership negotiations, but faces major hurdles over its positions in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are incompatible with EU membership.
“I do not hide my regret that we have not yet held the first intergovernmental conference with Albania and Northern Macedonia. The time has come for this to happen and to bring all the agreements to the table," said Commissioner Varhejli.
Agreements aim to make thin borders
Agreements signed on Tuesday deal with making it easier to cross borders, recognizing university diplomas and paperwork reduction that makes trade and movement of workers easier.
In his remarks, Albanian Prime Minister Rama reiterated the call for the other three countries in this "fully inclusive initiative.” He added the agreements signed will lead to a region that enjoys within it the four freedoms of EU citizens that govern the movement of goods, persons, services and capital.
"The Open Balkans is more of an aspiration than an initiative. Every agreement here brings our countries closer to the EU, so the other countries of the Western Balkans must join us," Rama said.
Serbian President Vucic said that this initiative will set a different tone for the future.
"This is an initiative that will prepare the future of our children, to connect our citizens with each other, those who until yesterday thought more about the past than about the future," Vucic said.
He also stressed that this is a comprehensive process and other countries are welcome.
"If they want to, they are welcome, but we do not have to apologize to them because they do not want to. They need to explain to their citizens why they are not here. When they see the benefits, they will come," Vucic said.
Proponents of the initiative say a full implementation of a regional market can increase GDPs by 30 percent in each participating country.
Opponents say Serbia’s larger economy will ultimately dominate and hurt the smaller countries, while piecemeal regional integration can never replace EU integration, which has stalled for years.
Read more: The problem with Open Balkans
